Chapter 9 Both talent and talent are appreciated

There are many rules in the palace, and they are strictly enforced.In the early Qing Dynasty, considering that eunuchs were slaves, there was no need to master the activities of high-level talents such as poetry and prose, and they were never allowed to study poetry and prose.It is said that Emperor Yongzheng once made a decree: All the eunuchs in the palace who read and study poetry will be punished.This strict regulation continued until the reign of Emperor Xianfeng.Ever since Empress Dowager Cixi listened to the government behind the curtain, she went out of her way and disregarded the family law of her ancestors, and immediately stipulated that all eunuchs in the palace should spend their spare time studying poetry and economics in order to improve their self-cultivation and be more in line with royal etiquette.Cixi even personally gave lectures to the eunuchs in her own palace, and the requirements were very strict. Anyone who was not careful or slow in studying was often punished by standing, kneeling or punished with a bamboo whip.Therefore, at that time, the eunuchs in the palace, big and small, were very popular in reading and writing.

Li Lianying was very smart since she was a child. Before entering the palace, she studied in a private school in her hometown for a year.In addition, he is very attentive, and he keeps in mind everything that the Empress Dowager Cixi said.Every time Cixi asked questions, she answered them fluently, which was appreciated by Cixi.It is said that Cixi often praised Li Lianying's talent among the ministers of the inner court, which is rare in the history of the Qing Dynasty. Empress Dowager Cixi likes to write in her spare time, and she is quite satisfied with her calligraphy.Whenever she writes, she only asks Li Lianying to wait on the paper and ink, and constantly tells Li Lianying about various calligraphy schools and key points of calligraphy according to her own experience.All these benefited Li Lianying a lot, and Li Lianying paid great attention to it.So, he went back to his residence, often practiced writing hard, and worked very hard, and soon made some progress.After Cixi learned about it, she also looked over his handwriting.Seeing that Li Lianying's handwriting was flat, thin and long, with sharp pen and ink, she had a certain foundation, so she gave him a copybook in thin gold script and asked him to work hard to copy it.Later, Li Lianying was really good at writing thin gold styles, and was even more loved and favored by Cixi.

When Li Lianying was sixteen or seventeen years old, she wrote poems and essays citing classics and allusions. The words were very appropriate and appropriate, and the writing was very fluent.Cixi often couldn't hold back the joy in her heart and let the ministers circulate and comment, which was often praised by the ministers. Li Lianying is bold, careful, and tactful, and is well-known as Cixi's confidant, so gradually some ministers made friends with him, and often asked him to convey and ask for performances on their behalf.Whenever Li Lianying encountered these things, she tried her best to handle them well, neither to offend Empress Dowager Cixi nor to offend princes and ministers, showing a distinctive maturity and stability.Therefore, he soon became a respectable and popular young eunuch in Chuxiu Palace.

Although the Empress Dowager Cixi does not give a good impression, she is a talented woman after all.During the Tongzhi and Guangxu periods, Beijing Pihuang Opera (now known as Peking Opera) had entered its heyday. Cixi himself liked Pihuang very much. Even the name of Peking Opera was said to have originated from Cixi.Cixi is proficient in opera, and she has personally adapted more than one hundred Peking opera librettos, which shows how obsessed she is with Peking opera.Not only that, in the first year of Tongzhi, shortly after Empress Dowager Cixi changed Li Lianying's name, she sent him to the Shengping Administration to learn opera (the eunuch's school was jokingly called internal school, and folk students' school was called foreign school). There are also relevant records in "Yiyuan Luncong":

Li Lianying played Xiaosheng, Liu Shoufeng played Hualian, Xiangyu played Wudan, and Chen Zitian played Laosheng.We know that a person who is good at learning and imitating has a certain foundation in any aspect.Li Lianying also looked a little like a young student when she learned to sing. Later, she performed for Cixi many times in the palace, and her level gradually improved, and her skills became more and more mature.It is said that his voice is loud and broad, and his acting skills are very deep.The Empress Dowager Cixi was also very happy. She once joked to Li Lianying: You can sing and do well, but your mouth is too big. A big brazier with the evil appearance of cannibalism.

Empress Dowager Cixi has a certain degree of research on Peking opera, and she is very strict with the actors. No matter who is a little bit careless, sings wrongly, or performs badly, the light ones will be blamed, and the serious ones will be beaten and scolded. Acting students will face the danger of being expelled.If you often walk by the river, you will inevitably get your shoes wet.Once, Li Lianying, who has always been cautious, sang a wrong line. If it was someone else, the Empress Dowager Cixi would have gone crazy and punished Li Lianying. Li Lianying is the kind of eunuch who is deeply liked by the master. If the master likes it, he will work hard to learn it. If the master hates it, he will treat it as a restricted area and never touch it.Cixi loves Beijing opera, which has a great influence on Li Lianying.Therefore, Li Lianying also spent a lot of effort in Beijing opera, which also had a certain influence on his descendants.Most of his nephews and grandchildren are fond of opera, among which his second heir Li Fude is the most accomplished.In 1908, Li Fude co-organized an opera class with Xue Gujiu and Sun Peiting in his home.This Sun Peiting was actually a student of foreign nationality in his early years. He once sang an opera for Cixi, but was expelled by the Empress Dowager Cixi because he sang a wrong part of the libretto.Later, Shang Xiaoyun and Xun Huisheng were Li Fude's students among the four famous actors on the stage of Chinese Peking Opera. This can be regarded as having a certain relationship with Li Lianying!

Because Li Lianying has a certain foundation and talent in many aspects, giving people a feeling of both talents and talents, the Empress Dowager Cixi appreciates him very much, which is also one of the important reasons why Li Lianying became popular.Just as Li Lianying's descendants said: His talent is the main aspect to be able to gain the trust and reuse of Empress Dowager Cixi. In her later years, Empress Dowager Cixi devoted herself to Buddha and often dressed herself as Guanyin Bodhisattva, and let Li Lianying dress up as Wei Tuo or a good man, and use the water as a mirror by the North Sea; Or pretending to be the son of Taiyuan, Li Lianying pretending to be Li Weigong to relieve boredom, laughing and having fun, just like a family, and there is no respect between each other.The Empress Dowager Cixi often praised Li Lianying for her chic demeanor and superb acting skills, and Li Lianying also took the opportunity to make jokes, which made Cixi happy.

All in all, Li Lianying, who has a refreshing appearance, is young and intelligent, and is tactful and prudent in her dealings, really fits Cixi's requirements, so she quickly skyrocketed and reached a hot spot, becoming a popular person and confidant around Cixi.